Paper Artsy - Grunge Paste Challenge

 The latest Paper Artsy challenge is to use Grunge Paste,and over on their blog I was inspired by Liesbeth Fidder's mosaic with it's beautiful frame looking like stained glass.  This gave me the idea to make a garden path, with some old pieces of sea-worn pottery, using Grunge Paste as the grout.  I also used it with rusting powder and stencilled it on the background papers.  I added antique clay pipe stems, wire and beading, threads around the wires, hand embroidery and a tiny needle-felted birds nest.

I wanted to create the feeling of moving away from winter, and to show the subtle changes as Spring arrives, growth coming up from below, little hints of greenery, the green beads replacing the white frosty ones and of course the birds nest with little pieces of green moss and lichen.

Winter Wall Hanging

 On my desk this week for WOYWW - a small winter garden wall hanging.
I've been working on it  for a long time but put it to one side when it didn't seem to be going in the direction I wanted.   
After a break from each other we made friends again and I think I am calling it finished now!

 I recently came across a technique over at Patty's blog Magpie's Nest for making faux resin paper - she makes some beautiful art with it and it's well worth a look.  Here's a link to the Youtube video tutorial.  It seemed so easy that I just had to give it a try and I was really pleased with the results - here's some of it being used in the little wall hanging.

Velvet Seed Head

 Although winter is pretty much over I'm still bursting with ideas for the Winter Garden series of work I've been doing - this is a large seed head that I found and I simply had to fill each seed pod hole with a little velvet cushion!  

I chose warm, wintery coloured velvets, silver micro beads to represent frost and I added some silver gilding paste around the edges and on the back of it.

I think I shall be putting Winter to one side soon - the garden is coming alive

and signs of winter are receding rapidly! 

Eco Printing and WOYWW #304

This week, for WOYWW, I've been eco printing the last of my 'get well' flowers - it seemed such a shame to just chuck them in the bin while they still had a little life left!  

Here are a few of my results and some instructions if anyone is interested.

I have been printing and dyeing with foliage on a very simple level for years - I love it and I always feel so excited at the moment the prints are revealed!  The last time I did it I used a brick to add weight and hold down the layers of plants.  However I recently came across a slightly different method of printing, using tiles and elastic bands when I visited the beautiful Interlaced-Textile Arts blog.  Here is my version of printing using Marilyn's method (she can also be found on Facebook here and I can assure you that this extremely talented lady is well worth a visit!)

Firstly, soak some thick papers or card in warm water or white vinegar.

Lay a wall tile smooth side up and place the first sheet of card/paper on it. 

Build up layers of card/papers with a variety of foliage in between the sheets.

Place a second wall tile on the pile, with the smooth side down and then firmly bind together with several elastic bands.

Place in a steamer and steam for one or two hours.

I picked up a very cheap steamer with two steaming pans and my husband cut out the bottom of the top one so the tiles would fit in it, which you can see in the picture below - I have to be very careful of the sharp edge.  There are other ways without vandalising a perfectly good steamer!  As I mentioned before you can use a brick or heavy stones to weigh down the pile of papers in the bottom of the pan, or use a matching sized saucepan as a makeshift lid, as Marilyn did, to cover the extra height of the tiles if the steamer is too shallow.

Tea Bag Art and Recuperation

Firstly, I would like to say a big thank you for all the good wishes I have received over the last week, your visits and kind words have meant a lot to me.
  When I knew I was imminently going into hospital I prepared a handful of teabags! I ironed Vilene on to the back of each one, and added some fabric and machine stitching to them.  Now that I am recuperating I have my bag of prepared teabags and a bag of 'bits and bobs' by me so I can sit and quietly decorate them with beads, braids and embroidery.  It's been nice having a gentle activity to do while I'm on enforced rest!  The theme is the Winter Garden, in case you hadn't guessed, and this is what is on my desk this week for WOYWW! 

The Resilience of the Winter Garden

This is a page from my sketchbook and it's still sitting on my desk open from when I photographed it early last week.  It's quite a busy piece and I wanted to show the resilience of the garden in winter, all that's going on that we don't see until spring arrives.

I used Grunge paste and glitter, gold leaf, beads and Glossy accents with micro beads.  I discovered that micro beads ping off the glue from the hot glue gun once it's cooled down!!  I'll be finding them around my studio for years to come!

Spring Nests and the Paper Artsy Challenge

The new challenge over at Paper Artsy is 'deconstruction' - using items, materials or products in a way they weren't originally meant to be used.

Leandra's video inspired me to get out my box of old thread spools, and after some deliberation I decided to make a nest - the birds in my garden are looking very smart and I think they are beginning to choose their mates and gather nesting materials ready for the Spring!

I used some vintage sheet music around the spool, and the nest was made of feathers and moss, with a little egg on the top!  The miniature tag is ready to be decorated with an initial or message when I decide who to give it to!

WOYWW #300

  On my desk this week I have some new stash (mixed up with some old stash!):- some lovely wide linen ribbon, printed and frayed...   

some vintage style fabric with birds and script on it, and some linen trim with little rosettes...

 some new Tim Holtz fabric with postal marks and stamps...

and finally, a lovely surprise landed through the letterbox from my dear blog friend, the super-talented Lynn at One I Made Earlier Today - she knows how much I covet and love her old rusty typewriter and she's made me a wallet with matching postcards, beautifully decorated with stitching.  How gorgeous are they!

A huge thank you Lynn.

I'm linking up with WOYWW this week for the 300th Anniversary.   Congratulations to our leader Julia - what an achievement!  Why not pop over and see what other people have on their desks - it's a great place to nose around!